‘Only yes means yes’ protects women’s sexual consent

Spain has marked one of the most important steps in its legislative history, preserving the rights of women and protecting their security and safety. Spain’s Lower House of Parliament passed legislation that requires sexual consent to be explicit, approving the “only yes is yes” law.

Under the law, any sex that is imposed without clear consent can now be brought into trial as rape. Before the legislation of the law, rape needed to involve some sort of violence or else it would be considered sexual abuse, according to the New York Times. 

Feminist call 

The new law is a strong statement about the rights of women, backing the feminist call of “only yes means yes” to safeguard the sexual freedom of women. 

Victims will no longer have to prove that they suffered violence or that they physically resisted in order to show that they have suffered sexual assault. Any sexual action without consent will be deemed assault, according to the BBC.

“It will only be understood that there is consent when… the will of the person is clearly expressed,” reads the text of the bill. 

The law states that consensual sex will now require an agreement from the partners instead of silence. The legislation was backed by Spain's parliament in May, Euronews reported. 

The new law greatly supports victims of sexual assault, and the definition of sexual violence is also broadened. The text of the legislation says the aim is to “disincentivize the demand for all kinds of services linked to sexual exploitation, prostitution and pornography which normalizes sexual violence,” according to the BBC. 

Manada or “wolf-pack” case

This change, introduced by the leftist coalition government of Pedro Sánchez, has been largely prompted by the so-called Manada or “wolf-pack” case, when five men raped an 18-year-old woman, according to the BBC. 

In July 2016, a group of men, who came to be known as the “wolf-pack” because they were members of a WhatsApp group by that name, in Pamplona, Spain, offered to walk an 18-year-old woman to her car. Afterwards, they led her to a building where they took turns filming themselves sexually assaulting her, the Washington Post reported. 

Police arrested five men the next day, and the Spanish court claimed that the group was guilty of “continuous sexual abuse” rather than rape. The men were sentenced to nine years each in prison, according to the Washington Post. 

The issue of consent was raised because the victim never said “no” during the process, but she was described as being paralyzed by fear. Social backlashand huge street demonstrations erupted against the verdict. In 2019, the Supreme Court withdrew the verdict, increasing the sentence of the five preparators to 15 years, according to the BBC.

The BBC stated that a total of 2,143 rapes were reported in Spain in 2021, 14% more than the previous year and the highest figure on record. Since 2018, according to Amnesty International, Denmark, Croatia, Greece, Malta, Sweden, Iceland and Slovenia have introduced consent-based rape legislation.